I made marmalade today. I was rather rushed because we were doing all the weekend errands and work we usually do in one day because we sat with Rocket yesterday during his other grandfather’s funeral. Interment will be Tuesday at the National Cemetery in Elgin, OK (part of Ft. Sill of Lawton). While I was making marmalade, Mr. Picky eater was recovering a lovely vanity bench we picked up for $1 last summer at a yard sale. The seat was torn up and he wasn’t happy when I purchased it but with the $2.25 piece of fabric we got at the Joanne’s sale today, we have a very nice item for him to sell at the flea market that only cost us $3.25 and about 30 minutes work! Here’s a picture:
Now for the marmalade that was my dad’s favorite and has become one of mine as well. Many people ask for it but the truth is, I dislike making it because it is SO labor intensive! I use Seville oranges but mine is different in that I do not use a mandolin to thinly slice the oranges because I think the white part is bitter and the membrane gets tough in the processing. So I slice the oranges in half and taking a grapefruit spoon, I scoop out the oranges from the membrane. I also use a nutmeg grater to scrape the peel off the oranges and they generally dissolve in the cooking process. Since it may take up to 2 weeks for the marmalade to set, I can’t show you any of the jarred stuff. I took the remainder after filling up 6 half pint jars and stuck it in the freezer so it would quick-set. Here is the recipe:
4 cups of orange segments and juice
1 Tablespoon of orange peel
Juice of 1 lemon and some of the lemon peel
5 ½ Cups sugar
1 box powdered pectin
1 pat butter (this one is a foamer!)
Directions: